


But it can't blow me down

by owlaholic68



Series: New Vegas Blues [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Asphyxiation, Blood and Injury, Dead Money, Explicit Language, Flashbacks, Gen, Multi, Old World Blues, Polyamory, Sexist Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 20:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11066616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlaholic68/pseuds/owlaholic68
Summary: One friend missing, one injured. All four of them lost in a dangerous situation.





	But it can't blow me down

**Author's Note:**

> Slight spoilers for Dead Money and Old World Blues.

Lynn feels the cord around her waist – not the one that keeps her connected to Raul and Veronica, but the _other_ one – go taut, then snap. She stumbles backwards a step and throws an arm forward, reaching –

Her fingers brush metal for an instant, then a particularly strong gust whips ED-E away.

* * *

 Veronica grabs her arm and points to the West.

“Sandstorm’s rolling in,” she points out. Lynn frowns, brows furrowed. She turns to Raul.

“We’ve got ten minutes, at most, boss,” he warns. ED-E hovers by his shoulder, worriedly beeping.

They’re in the middle of nowhere, heading back to Jacobstown after investigating rumors of supermutant sightings to the north. Marcus will be disappointed that none of the mutants wanted to join his settlement. That is, if they make it back to deliver the news.

There’s nothing on the horizon as far as the eye can see. Lynn checks her Pip-Boy map.

“Closest shelter is probably that farm we passed on the way up here,” Veronica remarks, peering over her shoulder at the map.

The wind is picking up now, dark clouds rolling in to blot out the sky.

Lynn rubs her eyes. “We’ll never make it,” Raul grimly nods. “We’ll just have to try anyways.” She takes off her heavy pack and rustles through it, tossing out items as she finds them.

Two ropes, goggles, an extra scarf, and a large blanket. While the others prepare themselves, she beckons ED-E over. “Gotta cover you up with this blanket, okay buddy?” she coos, wrapping the light blanket partially over the robot and tying it in place. “Otherwise you’re going to get all gummed up from the sand.” ED-E shifts a little, clearly unhappy, but otherwise is obedient.

Lynn slips on the goggles and ties the scarf around her own nose and mouth. Veronica takes the rope and ties it around her waist, then passes it to Lynn, who does the same. Raul takes the end. ED-E is tethered to Lynn’s waist by a smaller piece of cord. They start walking, following the cracked remains of Highway 95. The storm waits five minutes before it swallows them whole, throwing a sandy blanket over their heads and covering their ears with big dusty hands.

* * *

 Lynn is alone, stumbling through miles and miles of red dust. She’s choking and coughing, a gloved hand over her mouth. The Cloud wraps an arm around her chest and _squeezes_ , murmuring softly in her ear. A red hand shoves her and she trips, scraping a knee on the cobblestone ground.

Then a _real_ hand grabs her elbow and hauls her up. It yanks her forward and into fresh air.

“That was unwise,” God growls, squinting down at her. “You should be more careful.” Lynn struggles to her feet, gasping and rubbing at her irritated eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” she chokes out, “let’s just move on. We’ve got a job to do.”

* * *

Just because she can feel the rope around her waist doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel alone. Knowing that Veronica and Raul are on either side of her, ED-E in front, doesn’t compare to being able to _see_ them. Even her Pip-Boy light only illuminates a foot in front of her.

Despite the wind roaring in her ears, it’s stiflingly quiet. She can’t even hear her footsteps as her boots sink into the soft sand-

Lynn stops abruptly. They’re no longer on the highway.

She feels the others stop too. The Pip-Boy map is partially obscured by dust, and she wipes the screen clear, trying to shield it with her hand. They’re still heading vaguely south, but the highway curved to the east a little ways back. It wouldn’t be much of a problem, except that they have to follow the highway to make it to the pass where their only hope of shelter lay.

The wind curls around her neck and laughs gleefully in her ear.

Veronica’s hand touches her shoulder. Lynn grabs her hand and squeezes it, then realizes she can’t hold hands with Veronica and watch her Pip-Boy at the same time. She guides Veronica’s arm to settle around her waist. Raul has drawn closer to her too, curious about the reason for stopping. Lynn reaches out to his shoulder, then follows the line of his arm to hold his hand. She reaches out with her left hand to pat ED-E, then brings up her Pip-Boy to guide them back to the road.

“We’re almost there,” she says, not caring whether or not they even heard her. It wasn’t really true, anyways.

* * *

 Her Pip-Boy is laying on an examination table. Lynn is perched on the table next to it.

“So how long will this give me?” she asks. Elijah had said that this woman’s name was Christine, which had sparked something in the back of her mind. _Where have I heard that name before?_

Christine looks up from the device, thinking for a second. Then she holds up five fingers.

“Five seconds?” Lynn’s eyebrows raise. “That’s not bad!” Christine smiles slightly, then bends back over the Pip-Boy. The main casing of it is off, and she is fiddling with some parts and dials.

“-hit by the explosions, woke up here. Guess the medical robots were programmed to bring wounded victims from the camp to this center. Some kind of Auto-Doc prototype lab…manned by corpses…” a voice starts speaking from the Pip-Boy’s speakers. Christine jumps back from the device, eyes wide.

“Whoa, sorry,” Lynn quickly reaches down to turn off the recording. “Just a holotape I found at- hey, are you okay?” Lynn hops off the table and puts a hand on Christine’s shoulder.

Christine points at the Pip-Boy, then at herself. Seeing Lynn’s uncomprehending stare, she points insistently at the device.

“My Pip-Boy?” Lynn asks. Christine shakes her head, frowning. “No, so…the recording? The voice?” Christine nods quickly, then points at herself. “You… you are… you’re _that_ Christine?”

Christine nods, smiling. Then her smile fades and she touches the scars around her throat, brows furrowed in anger. She hastily picks the Pip-Boy back up, and continues to work.

Lynn says nothing, but watches. This woman is gorgeous, even in the flickering light of the abandoned clinic. _I wonder if she’s single_ …

* * *

 “ED-E!” she yells, but the storm snatches her words and shoves them back down her throat. She coughs, feeling Veronica’s arm tighten around her waist in worry. “ED-E,” she wheezes, squinting through the sand, trying to catch even a glimpse of her small robotic friend. The storm is too dense; Lynn can barely see her Pip-Boy map, which she’s been holding up to her face to see the small compass markers on it.

The map.

Lynn quickly zooms in on their current location, searching for anything, any indication as to ED-E’s location. She finds it, a faint blue triangle not far away from them.

“There!” she triumphantly declares, turning to Raul. She can barely make out his furrowed brows in the odd blue glow of her Pip-Boy light. She squeezes his calloused and rough hand, and the corners of his eyes crinkle in a smile. Then Lynn hears an odd sound, a sharp _whoosh_ and _clank clank **clank**_. She lets go of Raul’s hand and half-turns towards it.

The hood of a car smacks into her back, knocking the wind out of her. She skids on her exposed elbows and forearms, curling up on the dusty ground. _Good thing I didn’t hit my head._

* * *

 Lynn’s head smacks against the packed earth, _hard_ , when something unexpectedly jumps on her back. _At least I probably won’t get a concussion_ , she thinks. _Since my head’s pretty much empty right now_. She manages to twist onto her back, then shrieks at the sight of her attacker, a giant green abomination. Lynn kicks at its stomach, reaching for her pistol holster, only to find it empty.

 _Shit, I dropped it_ , she realizes, spotting it several feet away. Instead, she draws a combat knife and stabs the monster in its throat. It scrambles off of her, and she sprints away from it, into the greenhouse. The holotape that she’s looking for is sitting right next to the entrance, and she snatches it, shoving it in a random pocket and turning back towards the doorway.

There are two monsters in the doorway, blocking her only exit. _Fuck_.

* * *

 “-you okay?!?” Veronica is shouting as Lynn rubs at her grazed arms. She nods, adjusting the scarf around her face. Lynn turns towards Raul.

He’s not moving, face down in the sand. The wind is gleefully throwing handfuls of sand over him, excited to bury someone.

“Raul!” she yells, kneeling at his side. Lynn quickly turns him over onto his back and lets her Pip-Boy scan his vitals. Still alive, just unconscious. Moderate laceration on the forehead. She breathes a sigh of relief, and reaches to her belt to unhook a stimpack, gently administering it to the wound. In the sickly blue light, Raul looks pale and gaunt, shadows pooling eerily in the wrinkles and pockets of his face.

“-going to be okay?” Veronica asks. Lynn nods, face grim.

One friend missing, one injured. All four of them lost in a dangerous situation.

Lynn adjusts the bandana around his mouth and nose (well, where his nose used to be), then takes a knife from her boot and cuts the rope connecting them together. She picks the ghoul up and lays him over her right shoulder, backpack and all. Lynn meets Veronica’s worried eyes, then silently starts walking, checking the Pip-Boy map again.

* * *

 “This is _so_ good!” Veronica gushes, pressing against Lynn’s side. One arm is around Lynn’s waist, the other one holds a dessert: deep-fried crystallized cactus fruit, a new recipe that the Garret twins made up.

“Glad you like it!” Lynn laughs, pecking Veronica on the cheek. They were sitting next to each other at a table at the Atomic Wrangler, amongst a dozen other patrons.

“Thanks so much for this,” Veronica says, tucking her head into the crook of Lynn’s neck. “Best birthday ever…”

“No problem,” Lynn says, smiling. “I’ll take any excuse to get dressed up and go out, you know. We’ve all been working so hard lately, and-“

“Hey!” A man loudly slurs, slamming a hand down on their table. In his other hand is a glass, almost empty. “You bitches stole my table!” He slams his glass down too.

“Really?” Lynn retorts, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrows. Veronica grinned. This was the Lynn she loved: confident and sassy. “Your table?” Lynn scoots her chair back a little so she can loudly put her feet up on the table. Her dusty boots almost knock over the man’s glass.

“It _is_ my table!” The man fumes. “I always sit here, and I’m not about to let you and your friend take what’s mine!” He shoves Lynn’s boots off the table and looms over her. On the other side of the room, Francine Garret takes notice of the commotion and nudges her brother.

Lynn slowly stands up, smiling wide and dangerous. “My friend?” she laughs. The man starts to look slightly worried. Lynn is a good couple of inches taller than him, and in her sleeveless dress, her biceps are clearly visible. “My friend and I are having a nice romantic date, so if you could just _fuck off_ , that would be just peachy!”

The man’s face goes red. “You think you’re so much better than me, bitch?” he shouts, half his words unintelligible.

“I mean, the bar’s set kinda low there, so even a mole rat probably is,” Veronica quips, still sitting down. Lynn cackles.

The man shoves Lynn, and she stumbles back a step. “You d-“

Quick as lightning, Lynn punches him square in the face, then follows it with another hit to the side of his head. He crumples to the ground instantly, unconscious. The Wrangler security immediately arrive and haul him away.

“Sorry about that, Lynn,” James Garret calls from behind the bar. “He’s been causing trouble ‘round here for a while. We’ll take care of it from here.” She waves back at him, a clear ‘don’t worry about it’. Lynn turns to sit down and finds Veronica standing up next to her.

Veronica fists a hand in her dress and pulls her close, kissing her deeply. “Take me up to your room right now,” she demands after pulling away, “because that was the hottest thing I’ve seen _all week_.”

“Anything for you,” Lynn replies, and lets herself be dragged up to her room.

* * *

 Lynn and Veronica have to work together to close the door. Lynn pushing with her left hand, Veronica with her right. The wind is on the other side of it, snarling and curling a hand around the door, trying to yank it back open. But they manage to slam it shut. The sudden near-silence echoes in Lynn’s ears, broken only by her and Veronica’s ragged coughing. She gently lays Raul down on the uneven wooden floor, removing his backpack and setting it down next to her own. Veronica sets a silent and still ED-E down on a nearby table.

“I’ll go check out the place,” Lynn sputters, yanking off her goggles and makeshift mask. She only makes it a step before being abruptly jerked back. A noise escapes her, something between a yelp and a gasp.

Veronica starts chuckling, and Lynn joins in. Then she takes a knife from her belt, cutting the rope that still connects them.

The building they found appears to be an abandoned ranch house, a two-story wooden building. Lynn peeks into a storage room on the first floor, but sees nothing of interest. The kitchen and living area are almost empty, except for some assorted pots and plates. The upstairs area is bare too, but Lynn perks up at the sight of four beds with intact and decent-looking mattresses. She turns towards the stairs.

“Hey, Veronica, we’ve got-“

“Holy mother of Caesar!” Veronica yelps. ED-E’s front panel is off, a mountain of sand pouring off the table, pooling at Veronica’s feet. She reaches into his metal casing and gently removes his filter, dumping that onto the floor as well. ED-E, now divested of about 50 pounds of sand, wakes up, humming and beeping happily. He rises a few inches above the table before Veronica grabs him and pulls him back down. “Not so fast, buster,” she laughs. “I gotta root around a little more, make sure your motors and sensors weren’t damaged by all that.” ED-E beeps rebelliously, but stays still for her all the same.

Raul wakes up from the noise and starts coughing, curling up on his side. “I…” he croaks, “am…am I in heaven?”

“Raul!” Lynn happily shouts, then clatters down the stairs, almost tripping on the last one.

“Boss?” Raul turns towards her. “Guess not, then,” he mutters. Lynn decides to ignore that comment, kneeling at his side. She helps him sit up and rubs his back as he coughs some more.

* * *

 An hour later, Lynn is cradling a near-empty bowl of noodles, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Veronica is asleep, her head resting on Lynn’s shoulder. Two empty bottles of purified water are laying at her feet, along with an empty InstaMash box.

“We should move upstairs,” Lynn whispers to Raul. “There are beds up there.”

“Maybe we could just move the mattresses down here,” Raul replies. “Could push them together, would be real comfy.”

“Well, you gotta do it,” she says, indicating Veronica. “I can’t really move right now.”

“Always making me do all the hard work,” he gripes good-naturedly. “With my old man knees too, you’re so cruel.” He stands up anyways and heads up to the bedroom, returning a minute later with two mattresses under his arm.

In the brief silence, the wind screams and bangs its fists on the door. Their clothes are laid out on the backs of chairs, the pockets still filled with dust and sand. Raul lays out the mattresses and sits down on the left one. Lynn picks up Veronica bridal-style and lays her down on the right one, then bends down to grab an extra blanket from Raul’s pack. She coughs, but it turns into a rib-rattling hacking wheeze. She puts her hands on her knees, trying to gasp for breath but failing.

“Whoa, _whoa_ , come on now,” Raul is suddenly at her shoulder, grabbing her arm and leading her down to the bed. Only when she’s settled down on it does he speak again. “You need to see Doctor Henry about that when we get back to Jacobstown.”

Lynn sharply turns her head towards him, eyebrows furrowed. “Hell no!” she snaps. Veronica mumbles something in her sleep, and Lynn winces. “ _Hell fucking no_ ,” she whispers fiercely. “Nuh uh, not gonna do it. I’ll just go to the clinic when we get back to Vegas.”

“You need to see someone _now_ ,” Raul insists just as firmly, “not in a week. Why not Doc Henry? Arcade vouched for him and everything.”

“Yeah,” Lynn wheezes, “and ‘Cade also said that he doesn’t even really know much about the Doc, and that he is basically an apathetic mad scientist who just likes experimenting on stuff.” She pauses to cough then continues, voice steadily growing louder. “I don’t want the guy figuring out about my fucked-up organs and bullet-to-the-head medical history. The next thing you know, he’ll be all _curious_ , and cutting me up in the name of science! I’ve had enough of that shit!” She breaks down coughing, hacking up dust and sand.

“What’s going on?” Veronica slurs sleepily next to her, raising her head. Half-asleep, she grabs Lynn’s arm. “You sound sick, babe,” she whispers. “…should go see a doctor.” Within seconds she falls back asleep.

Lynn, having recovered from her coughing fit, looks over at Raul. Contrary to his normal half-amused expression, he seems legitimately concerned and upset. Lynn feels like crying, both from the stress of the day and the argument. She slumps, rubbing her sore throat.

“Fine,” she whispers. “I’ll go see the Doc about it. But-“ she puts a hand on Raul’s shoulder, “if he starts rooting around in my internal organs, you gotta shoot him for me, babe, okay?” He smiles.

“Sure thing, boss,” he says, and kisses her.

“Love you, Raul” she murmurs, laying down on her back.

“Love you too,” he replies, curling up at her side and pulling the blanket over all three of them. “Good night.”

“I love you, Lynn” Veronica murmurs in her sleep, head pillowed on Lynn’s shoulder. “But if you take any more of my snack cakes, I won’t love you anymore.”

“Love you too, babe,” Lynn whispers, giggling. Across the room, ED-E beeps.

“Yeah, yeah, ED-E, I love you too,” she says, already falling asleep.

The wind is watching at the window, struggling with the latch and crying.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from “Dust Can’t Kill Me” by Woody Guthrie.
> 
> Want to know more about Lynn's complex poly relationship? Check me out at my [Tumblr](owlaholic68.tumblr.com).


End file.
